Springing Forward

As I sit here this morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, all of creation is awake! What a beautiful morning. Even in the beauty of this morning, it was still difficult to wake up. Changing our clocks an hour ahead over the weekend, and losing an hour sleep never seems to be a good combination.

Acts 1:1-11 is where my devotional time led me this morning. Something interesting struck me as I was reading and praying. There is an interesting balance of sorts between remembering the suffering of Jesus Christ and looking forward to what he promised would happen when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. The apostles were afraid of what was going to happen to them after their teacher had been crucified; yet they were filled with joy and excitement over what is going to happen.

I think this is a good reminder for us as we enter into the spring season. Some mornings it feels like winter. There will still be snow in areas. Trees will begin the process of budding. This is a wonderful time of year!

There are people who will read this, and I hope the Acts 1:1-11 passage, and not be able to get past the winter season. We can easily be pessimistic about the new thing that God is doing in our midst. I find it intriguing it is easier, and more comfortable for some reason, to allow the past to stay ingrained in our minds to the point we cannot see past it to see what new things are being developed, being created, being renewed.

Where are you today? Springing forward is not always easy to do; but I remember the words of the prophet Isaiah this day:

“Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness. The beasts of the field, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me, because I have put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness to give water to my people, my chosen ones, this people whom I formed for myself, who will recount my praise.” Isaiah‬ ‭43:18-21‬ ‭CEB‬‬

I pray each of you remembers the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in you and how Jesus Christ lives. Yes, the winter may still seem to be too close for us to look past right now; but look at what’s new and what is happening all around us that is good!

Filled With Expectation

As I read the verses for today, I think of the Johnny Carson show where Ed McMahon announced, “Heeeeere’s Johnny!!!” The expectation of the audience was raised when those words were spoken with excitement. I remember watching the Johnny Carson Show and loving hearing him announced.

I think a similar response happened with the crowd around John the Baptist when he was telling the crowd about the Messiah who is coming.

Click here to read Luke 3:15-18.

John has just finished telling the crowd what a changed heart and changed life (repentance) looks like and many were wondering if he was the Messiah promised or not.

It can be easy to read these verses in a monotone, unenthusiastic tone; but I do not believe this was John’s tone at all. I believe he would have been excited about telling the people of the coming Messiah. He would have been convicting, yet excited about telling the crowd of repentance and baptizing. This excitement must have transferred to the crowd.

The crowd gets rev’d up when something amazing is happening or about to happen. John is telling the people about the coming Messiah (Jesus Christ) and some of how He will live out His life. John proclaimed Christ to all who came and would listen!

How excited are we when we read the story of Jesus’ birth? How does our tone, our inflection, or volume change when we speak about Jesus Christ to others?

The Savior of the world is here. This is exciting news of great joy for all people! Our challenge is to have our attitudes of excitement become contagious so others will see there is something great and amazing about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Life Lived for Christ

Max Lucado says, “think what you think about.” One of the things I appreciate about this is that is forces us to think about why we do the things that we do. Our life is supposed to show our love of God and love of people. Jesus said in John 13, “everyone will know you are my disciples when you love each other.” Love begins with a thought and permeates every part of our being. So, we should think about our motives and how we live our life.

If you were in this crowd, how would you respond to John the Baptist? Click here to read Luke 3:7-14.

The other gospel accounts have John calling the religious leaders “brood of vipers” or “children of snakes.” But in Luke, something else happens. John is calling the crowd, “you brood of vipers” or in this translation, “you children of snakes.”

I’m not sure about you, but this would catch my attention being called that. The next few words out of his mouth would determine whether or not I would stay to listen.

John Wesley also warned people to “escape the wrath to come.” We have a choice: to live a life focused on angry judgement, or the grace of God. John the Baptist simply says, “produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives.”

What does this looks like? This is not about “earning” God’s grace or “earning” salvation. This is about allowing Jesus Christ coming into our life to change how we live. John the Baptist gives examples to people how this life looks when we change our hearts and lives (repent).

Christmas is a great time to remember that God came down in human form, Jesus Christ. His real presence in the world changes everything!

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Peace of God

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season will bring even the best of us to out wits end. We hear the story of Christ being born; yet we go about our busy lives as if nothing has changed. There are so many things to worry about. The media doesn’t help. God is with us and yet we still get frustrated, angry, sad, depressed, irritated, etc.

The letter to the Philippians is a great book to read, especially in this time of year. The Apostle Paul wrote this short letter. In it, he proclaims the simple message of finding joy and peace in God through Jesus Christ.

Click here to read Philippians 4:4-7.

There are many things we worry about; but do we really have to? Lifting up our concerns, our anxiousness, our worry, etc. doesn’t change our circumstances; but it does change our perspective. This is so much more than just changing our attitude. This is about complete trust in God through Jesus Christ.

When we share our burdens with Him, is it He who makes our load light. We do not have to carry it, because He carries our burdens for us and with us.

God coming down to earth as Jesus Christ tangibly shows God is with us and understands our lives. This year, allow peace to enter fully in our hearts, a peace beyond understanding, to make Christmas really come alive.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Sing to the Lord

What are some of your favorite songs to sing this time of year? Mine are “Joy to the World” and “O Holy Night.” In fact, these are two songs I would like to be sung at my memorial service after I pass away. The reason is because, even in death, there still can be joy. We do not pass over the grieving period; but JOY has been brought into my life through Jesus Christ and is here in the world too.

“O Holy Night” is a song that I used to sing and listen to with my great grandmother when I was a child; so I have great memories with this song. Besides, it is a song that helps me focus my mind and heart focused on the beautiful night that Christ was born, bringing God to earth in human form.

There are lots of passages in Isaiah that talk about destruction and bringing the exalted low; but this is one of the many passages which bring hope and God’s grace and joy into the the picture.

Click here to read Isaiah 12:2-6.

Though this passage has several Psalms re-written, this is a great reminder that God is where we draw our strength from. Our salvation from. Our life from because He has done great things!

This Christmas, we are invited to keep our hearts calm and focused on the Christ child who lived, died, was resurrected, and will come again. Sing to the Lord. What song will you sing today?

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Rejoice!

Christmastime is such a joyous time of year for so many people. This is the time we celebrate families with gift giving, parties, travel, and much more. We can see the good things in life, when we get together.

Unfortunately, many people do not have this same experience of this time of year. So many have felt loss and this time of year reminds them of this. There are also people who feel they are being punished in life by God.

The first two and a half chapters of the book of Zephaniah speak of pronouncing and impending judgement. His prophecies seem very similar to the prophet Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. But then, the tone completely shifts at the end with a message of hope and joy.

Click here to read Zephaniah 3:14-20.

When I read this short book in the Bible, I am reminded that we should not focus on the difficulties and disasters in our life.

“Rejoice and exult with all your heart…”

“The Lord has removed your judgement…”

“The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;..”

“Don’t fear…”

Then God promises to “deliver,” “gather,” “change their shame into praise,” “bring all of you back,” “gather you,” “restore.”

God was speaking these to the Israelites; but this also speaks to us today. How? Jesus Christ.

We rejoice because God is in our midst through Jesus Christ. He has removed our sin and shame because of the cross and His resurrection. Jesus, our good shepherd, is gathering us in and leading us. We are filled with the Spirit of the Living God.

Christ coming in the world, changes everything. Will we allow Him in to change us once again?

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Salvation & Hope

Are we really ready for Christmas? This is the question we should ask ourselves during the season of Advent. There is so much more than just a baby being born and angels in the skies and shepherds. This is the story of God coming down to be on of us and live the life we live. The birth of Jesus Christ in the world, changes everything!

Click here to read this week’s scripture passage.

This week, we have talked about John the Baptist, Proclaiming God’s Forgiveness, Wilderness and Crooked Paths, God’s Invading, and today we remember God’s ways lead to salvation and hope.

Salvation begins with God coming into our lives. God’s working though Jesus Christ gives us new life and hope for something greater, in the future, and in the here and now.

John pointed people to Jesus Christ. How do our lives point people to Christ?

The message of Christmas is to be shared.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

God’s Invading

Last week, a New York newspaper ran a headline that said, “God is not fixing this,” in response to the shootings that happened in San Bernardino, CA. The article was saying that something has to be done and people can’t “hide” behind meaningless phrases – more specifically, “my thoughts and prayers with with…”

When we read the story of Christ’s birth, we also look at the ministry of John the Baptist. He showed the people, and us today, what God is up to.

Click here to read this week’s scripture passage.

“God is not fixing the problem; God is invading it!” I love this thought, this truth. As I was preparing to preach, I read an article from the pastor of a church that made that statement. There is a lot of truth, and hope in this concept.

I hear people all the time asking why God isn’t fixing the situation. Why didn’t God stop that terrible thing to happen? Why didn’t God intervene in the sickness? There are many other questions we ask.

An answer came almost 2,000 years ago. John the Baptist pointed to the answer when he was baptizing in the wilderness, calling people to repent. He was pointing people to the person of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

The situation in John’s time was dangerous and people were waiting on God to fix the problem. This is not what God had planned. His plan was to come down in the form of a person (Jesus Christ) to walk around with His creations, show them the Kingdom of Heaven, then die and be resurrected so we could be forgiven and be reconciled to God and receive new life.

God’s answer was, and is, to “invade.” I believe this is His answer today as well. I believe that we can allow God into our lives so we can be changed from the inside out. This is where real change happens – from our heart. If we all Christ to change our hearts, our lives will change and we’ll have more compassion and more God-given direction to make a change in this world by bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Wilderness & Crooked Paths

Advent is a season we prepare our hearts and lives for the coming of the Christ child and anticipate His return. As we look into the process of preparing our lives, we can see how crooked and off the path we have gotten at times. It seems to be human nature to look after only ourselves. We all have been in the wilderness spiritually/emotionally and have tried to get where we are going by the longest way possible.

John the Baptist does something that I think we all can do. He comes out of the wilderness/desert and lives the life that God, the Creator of the universe, created him to do.

Click here to read this week’s scripture passage.

John has been living in the desert for close to 30 years when God’s word came to him to begin proclaiming the words of Isaiah: “prepare the way of the Lord.”

His mission was to tell the people that God was coming to straighten out the crooked paths. In essence, he was inviting people to live their lives out of the wilderness/desert. We have to ask, “what is your desert?” Do you feel dry spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially? I believe God is calling each of us to live lives of hope and joy because He provides what we need.

Jesus tells us not to worry; but to trust that God is providing enough for us. After all, if He provides for the lilies of the field, how much more will he provide for us?

Crooked paths. We all have made choices that have hindered our walk with God and people. Our crooked paths may be this way because of the road blocks we have set there or allowed to fall on our path. Prejudice. Our own self desires above others. Pride. Anxiety. And many more.

God doesn’t come into the world to fix the world; but to invade the world. He comes in like a bulldozer clearing out the path so we can follow Him. Jesus Christ is like God’s bulldozer. We trust Him to guide us, to be our light, our bread, our water, our hope. Nothing is the same after a bulldozer passes through. Nothing is the same after we follow Christ.

Instead of a path of destruction, we now have a path to God that is getting cleared.

Are you ready for Christmas and the work that God is doing in our world through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Proclaiming God’s Forgiviness

We have several topics of conversation during the Christmas holidays. We’ll talk of love, family, weather (good or rough), relationships, parties, gifts, etc. Our conversations are around the goodness of the season. Yet, this is one of the most stressful times of the year.

During this season, it seems we are more likely to be harsh with another person because they say the wrong thing. We see through the media doing anything they can to get the “perfect” gift. We are more likely to give this time of year; but we get frustrated with how many people are asking for donations.

This time of year, we say “Jesus is born” and “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Before Jesus preached his first sermon, John the Baptist was on the scene telling people to repent and receive God’s forgiveness.

Click here to read this week’s scripture passage.

Repent. God’s forgiveness. These are topics of conversation that we really only hear in the church. It is so easy to get caught up in the to-do’s and all the festivities that we can forget to proclaim the forgiveness and grace of God to people. This is the real gift that comes at Christ’s birth.

His life, His death AND His resurrection were all done so we can be reconciled to God. No longer to we have to live in fear. No longer do we have to live separate from God.

The question we all have to answer is “will you accept this gift?” Gifts that are held on to don’t really live out their full potential. It is when we share that the gift brings extra joy. This is how it is with Jesus Christ.

So, instead of simply saying “Merry Christmas,” how about taking time to give someone the gift (out of love for God and them) of Jesus Christ by telling how He changed your life and how their life might be different.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.